Hook, Line, and Sinker
by R. M. Ripley
Summary: Emma thought that she was able to live a normal life in New York, until some unfortunate events and a handsome stranger appeared into her life. Now she has to juggle a job, raising a child, and a budding relationship in the mess of everything. Will her past come back to haunt her or will she be able to find her happy ending? Non Magic Version. HookxEmma EmmaxNeil (Temporary)
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

New York, the town that never sleeps or so they say, she for one knew that crime was the only thing that never slept. Here she was waiting in her yellow bug for the man she was pretty sure that she loved to return, what he was doing was beyond her all she knew was that he needed her at 3 in the morning. As she sat in her car, she looked around and began to get nervous, what could possibly be taking Neil so long to get whatever it was that he had to get.

"Common Neil." She mumbled under her breath as she sat as patiently as she could. There were about a million voices in her head that were screaming for her to run and to leave him, yet she ignored them all. Wouldn't he get her into trouble, right? He loved her, didn't he? Soon he came running from behind a building and pulled off what looked like a ski mask as he opened the driver door making her move over to the passenger side.

"We gotta go! Man, what a bunch of idiots! We are going to live like royalty babe, never have to live off the streets again." He started the car and jammed it into gear as he floored it and made a getaway.

"What the hell did you do Neil?" Emma was in absolute shock as she went to look in the bag he had thrown into the back seat.

"Don't worry about it babe, I'm taking care of you." Neil grabbed her for a kiss before she had the chance to really look.

"I'm afraid that I really don't understand, and why are we heading to the pier?" Emma noticed where he was headed and this wasn't like him what so ever. This really wasn't what she had planned when she started dating Neil.

"Don't worry about it, babe." Neil was less than helpful. Emma looked out of the windshield as the pier became closer and they began to slow down.

"Neil, did you just rob that store back there? What are you thinking?! You are going to get us both in trouble."

"Yes I did but everything will be fine, no one seen anything"

"I don't care! I'm not going to be a part of this. Let me out and I am going home and pretending that this never happened!"

"Emma common be reasonable"

"Neil pull over!"

"Okay, okay" Neil pulled over, Emma grabbed her purse and got out of the car as fast as she could and waved him to leave. She couldn't believe what just happened. It was a little hard for her to wrap her head around everything that just happened, not only was it early in the morning but she was at the pier and was miles away from anywhere. She couldn't even call anywhere home at the moment since she lived with Neil at his place. She walked over to a bus bench that was right outside of a little pub; she was guessing by the smell that those who docked their ships at the pier also docked their butts in the pub. As she sat on the bench she dug through her purse to see if she even had enough for a bus fair to get her somewhere closer to home, he heard footsteps, which wasn't odd for the area but was at this time at night.

"Bloody hell, really the pub isn't open." The man gave an aggravated sigh; she heard the thick Irish accent that flooded his voice yet she wouldn't look up to see how it was. "So what brings you to this side of town, love? You don't look like someone who would regularly be here"

"I have mace and I'm not afraid to use it." She was bluffing she never carried mace. Of course, she wasn't ever in this type of a situation. Sure she was an orphan but that didn't mean that she had to be one of the bad ones now did it? She did everything in her power to get out of a bad situation earlier.

"Easy there, love. I'm not here to hurt you; I'm just a sailor who was looking for a drink and a nice conversation. I'm Killian Jones by the way." He extended his hand to her, to try to show that he wasn't going to hurt her in any way.

"Emma Swan." As she said her own name she finally looked up at the stranger to see his pitch-black hair, scruffy beard, and brilliant blue eyes. She honestly couldn't believe a guy could be this beautiful, well besides the fact that he was completely in a pirate's outfit complete with leather pants and what she hoped was a fake sword hanging on his hip.

"Oh, it's quite real, love. Say why don't we go back to my ship for a few drinks?" He flashed her a grin that made her heart flutter. She couldn't believe what he said but her eyes must have lingered on his sword a lot longer than she should have.

"No I must be going, its last and I have to get home." She stood and grabbed her purse tightly.

"Now I can't let a beautiful lass like yourself wonder off into the night without suggesting she didn't for her own safety. That would be very un-gentlemen like of me. Please, come back to my ship for the night. You can sleep there and in the morning you can leave and go about your day like this never even happened. I promise I will stay on deck the whole night and keep watch." Killian once again offered his hand, he really was quite charming, to Emma's surprise even though he had no idea who she was he was still willing to help her stay safe. Unlike someone else she knew. The thought alone mad her mad again.

"Okay, but answer me this. Why does a pirate want to come to a bar to have I'm guessing rum when he should have a full storage on his ship" Emma put a hand on her hip.

"Well I don't want to deplete my stock but it looks like tonight I am going to have to break that rule. By the way Swan, you look like you could use a few drinks yourself." Again he smiled and made her heart jump.

"What makes you say that?" She began to walk with him.

"Let us just say you are a bit of an open book, Swan."

"Oh really" Emma tilted her head, Killian gave her a nod and led her back to his ship.

"Welcome to the Jolly Rodger" Again he gave her a heart-stopping grin as he helped her aboard his ship, they both shared drinks and some stories through the night. Emma may have drunk more than she would have admitted to having but she didn't care and wanted to forget the night.

* * *

~5 years later~

"Common Henry time for school." This was her normal routine of calling her five-year-old as she packed his lunch. Her life had been rough the past five years but she wouldn't have changed the choices she made. Neil was locked up for his crimes and the pirate never showed back up, Henry asked about where is father was almost weekly and she was frankly running out of ways to tell him she didn't have the slightest clue. Soon Henry came out from his room, his shirt backward and his shoes on the wrong feet. She smiled and sat him on the island counter to fix her son's clothing disaster before she headed off to work.

"Mommy, why do I have to go to school?" Emma smiled at the small brown haired boy, this was another daily question.

"So you can be smart like mommy. Fight bad guys and be a superhero." This answer always made Henry happy, after Emma set him on the ground he ran to get his little Power Rangers backpack and ran for the door. Emma grabbed her coffee, work folders, their lunches, and her purse as she followed Henry to the door.

Shortly after playing 20 questions on the way to Henry's school, Emma was able to head to work. She was a little late like normal but they gave her a break being a young single mother. Ironically she had become a bounty hunter and was the one who put Neil away for his crimes, if he wasn't so predictable she wouldn't have found him. She went to turn in her reports on her past captures and went to retrieve her new assignments. Only one folder laid on her desk, this caused her to tilt her head and look at the Captain.

"Only one? Is this a punishment or just a huge test?" She held up the folder expecting a good explanation.

"Read the file Swan, I think you will find it most interesting and not want to take any other cases for a while." The Captain went into his office and closed the door but continued to watch her from his desk through his large glass window. Emma looked down at the file and opened a rather stuffed manila folder. Her face turned pale as she seen the picture and name as she opened the file.

"No fucking way." She couldn't believe her eyes. Killian "Hook" Jones was her suspect. His features didn't really change but the one thing that did was he had a hook where one of his hands use to be. She had been looking for him for years and no one had even heard of the Jolly Rodger or Killian or the past 5 years; until now. "Where did you get this?"

"The boss said it was sent from Maine. No clue but he looks like someone I wouldn't want to tangle with unless I as having a good day." A deputy in the next desk looked at her.

"Thanks for the help Graham." Her sarcasm was thick as she grabbed her red leather coat and the file and headed out of the station. She had gotten a little beat up yellow bug car, which was all that she could afford at the time, and headed to the pier. She stopped so that she could see the ships and look over the file as she sipped on her coffee. Luckily no one on the docks really knew her and wouldn't suspect why she was even there, all she had to do was look for his ship, go to sit and wait. She quickly called in a sitter for Henry in case this job took a little bit longer than usual, she was hoping it wouldn't but who knows how long the pirate would take. He also had a lot of explaining to do.

Emma got out of her car and started down the pier in look for the familiar ship that he called the Jolly Rodger. Luckily it was the last ship at the dock, sadly this also meant he could get away easily if he saw fit. Killian had been a thorn in her side for 5 years, and now she was able to confront him.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here." A short fat man came off the Jolly Rodger and headed towards Emma. "The Captain isn't expecting any company today."

"Tell him to make room in his schedule." Emma wasn't afraid of him, he was short and fat and seemed less than threatening even on a bad day.

"Smee, don't harass such a beautiful lass." That Irish scent rang from the ship, bingo found him. "Obviously, she's here to admire the "Hook"." He grinned as he polished his hook.

"Absolutely." In her years of experience, she knew how to play along. She sent a smile at Killian as she boarded his ship with Smee hot on her tail.

"Come with me love, let us have a drink." Killian lead her to the captain's quarters leaving Smee to watch over the ship. He grabbed a couple glasses and poured with a heavy hand into each glass.

"So you're going by Captain Hook now huh? What Killian wasn't good enough for you?" Emma stood by the door, blocking it, her arms crossed and her eyes cold and unwilling to fall for his tricks again.

"So, you do remember." Hook drank his glass, looked at Emma and drank her glass for her. "So how long have you been looking for me, love?"

"5 years." He was taken aback the sharpness in her tone.

"Why is that? Couldn't get enough of me the first time?" He smirked thinking her figured her out.

"Let's just say I have a wonderful little reminder every day of 5 years ago."

"I see." Killian poured himself another drink and contemplated what she could have been talking about. He didn't remember a thing from back then, of course, all he was sent on was getting revenge on the man who took his hand.

"I also have a warrant for your head. So either come quietly or we can do this the hard way." Emma prepared herself for a fight that always happened, no one else took the easy way.

"I see. How about this, let's make a deal. I'll go with you but first, you have to have dinner with me. I have a feeling we have some catching up to do love." He looked at her and took a shot of rum.

"How can I trust you won't leave as soon as I do?"

"Common Emma, you are going to have to learn to trust me. Besides a pirates promise is his bond." Hook took a few steps closer to her and brushed a hair out of her face with his hook.

"Just this once." She stuck a tracker under the handrail on the stairs before she turned and left. This way she would know where he went if he did run. She was beating herself up all the way up the pier about letting him go but she needed some answers.

"I'll see you soon Love! At Sundown!" Hook called after her, he was once again smiling after her and looking at the other girls walking by the harbor. Emma hated that smile, it made her heart flutter but she wasn't about to let the world see that.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

On her way home before she picked Henry up she stopped at the station to get another quick catch before getting dinner. Luckily where he was going to be tonight is also where she was meeting Killian and about a half hour before hand which made things perfect. She set dinner in the back seat and went to pick up her favorite person, she had already called the babysitter and told her to come around the time of her date. The dinner she bought was mostly for Henry but she will end up eating a good portion of it as well while she was getting ready.

"So how was school?" She asked as she got Henry situated in the passenger seat.

"Good. I made a bird from my hand" Henry grabbed it from his backpack as it fell to the floor and showed it to Emma when she got into the driver seat.

"That's beautiful Henry. I'm so proud of you, that has to go on the fridge." Henry smiled and took the drawing back. Emma was very proud of Henry but she had so much on her mind she couldn't even think about anything but getting home and getting ready. They got home and Henry ran to put his drawing on the fridge and then put things away in his room. She kicked off her shoes and put the food on the counter, she quickly made Henry a plate and went to get ready for tonight. She heard Henry return to the kitchen and begin eating, she slipped into her tight red dress and began fixing her hair.

"Mommy... What are you doing?" Henry came into her room and climbed onto her bed.

"I'm sorry honey but mommy has some work that she has to do tonight. I promise I will be home in time to give you goodnight kisses." She sat beside him and kissed the top of his head.

"Promise?" Henry looked up at her.

"Pinky promise, and not a minute later." She hugged him close, he wiggled out of her arms and ran into the living room. "I hope Killian can respect this." She mumbled to herself then grabbed her 6-inch black stilettos and headed for the front door. She noticed that Henry ran to see the babysitter who was quick to get him occupied.

"Have a good night Ms. Swan. I'll make sure he gets to bed early." The babysitter smiled as she ruffled Henry's hair.

"No, I'll be home by bed time. I made a promise." She smiled, it made her heart hurt how much he looked like his father. She gave him another kiss on the top of his head and headed out.

When she got to the end of the stairs she put her shoes on and headed to the restaurant in her bug. She had some time to kill but not much till her suspect came, then Killian shortly after. She waited till she seen him go inside and got out of her car with a car boot and attached it to his car then headed inside. When she walked in she was just in time, she found the table he was sitting at and sat with him.

"You must be Ryan." She smiled and offered her hand

"You must be Emma, wow you look incredible." He was looking her up and down.

"Well, you never know what you are going to get on the Internet right?" They both shared a laugh and took a sip of wine. She was beginning to be thankful she was actually eating with Killian.

"So what is a beautiful, single, gorgeous woman like you doing on a dating site?" Ryan asked as he played with his glass.

"Oh, you know just looking for the perfect catch. My question is, and please let me know if I get this wrong, what are you doing out on a date after you robbed your own company and split before you could be locked up? Also, why are you screwing your wife over by dating after she paid your bail money." Emma leaned forward.

"Who are you?"

"I'm the person who put up the rest of the money"

"So you're a bail bonds person"

"Yeah, something like that." With that, Ryan flipped the table at Emma and ran out. "Really?" She followed after him but in a stroll since she knew he couldn't get far. He ran across traffic and got hit by a few cars before he managed to make it to his car and tries to take off. Emma followed only the cars were dodging her, she caught up to him by the time he noticed his car had a boot on it.

"You don't have to do this I'll pay you" Ryan begged seeing as he wasn't going anywhere.

"No, you won't because you don't have any money, and if you did it should go to supporting your family. "

"What the hell do you know about family?" Emma steps up to him and grabs the back of his head smashing it into the steering wheel.

"Not much." She took a few steps back and closed the door of the car, the cops showed up behind the car and gave her the nod that she could leave.

"I didn't realize this was a double dating adventure for you tonight, love" His voice ran from behind her as he joined in walking her across the street.

"It was a last minute thing, we have been chasing him for a while now. Just like someone else I know. Kind of gutsy to come out when the police show up don't you think? You are a wanted man." Emma stopped on the sidewalk, her feet were already killing her. She now remembered why she never wore these heels.

"Well, I am with you now, love. By the way, you look absolutely gorgeous" Hook whispered in her ear, this is when she took the moment to notice he was in a nice suit for once and not in his usual uniform or leather and a sword.

"You look quite handsome yourself, Mr. Jones." She smiled and they both headed back up to the restaurant. They were escorted to their seats, Hook pulled out Emma's chair and pushed it back in once she was seated then seated himself. Emma didn't remember the last time someone had been that nice to her. The waiter gave them their menus and went to get them drinks.

"So Swan, what did you need to tell me?" Killian didn't eve bother looking up to see the look on her face.

"What do you mean?" Emma set her menu down knowing what she wanted.

"You are an open book to me, you always have been and I can tell there is something that you have been wanting to say since you came to arrest me." Killian looked at her completely concerned.

"Yes there is something, but I don't feel this is the right place or the right time. All I need from you is to understand I have a 5-year-old at home that I promised I would be home to tuck him into bed tonight.." Emma was concerned but changed her composure once she saw the waiter return with their drinks and took their order, Emma chugged her wine and asked for a refill.

"Of course, I will respect that. Wait… when did you become a mom?" Killian was rapidly trying to do math in his head, which was hard considering he doesn't remember how long he had been gone.

"5 years ago. Neil was thrown in jail the day after I stayed with you. I found out I was pregnant a week later." Emma was very unsure how he would take this and prepared for him to run like the last guy.

"I'm going to pretend like I understand but I really don't. you had a prison guys baby?" Killian took another drink from his glass.

"No why do you think I have been looking for you for the past 5 years? To say 'oh I had another guy's kid'? Obviously not, maybe this was a mistake." Emma debated on leaving but then their food was delivered.

"You can't leave a boy without his father." Killian took a bite from his plate

"So does that mean you are going to stick around or are you going to run?"

"How are you saying I could stay with a bounty on my head?"

"Paying it off would be a great start." Emma ate a couple bites before pushing her plate away, she couldn't eat anymore. Her appetite was gone and her mind was set on Henry. They both had hardly eaten and Emma was determined to get home to keep her promise.

"Let me walk you home at least, and I'll keep my promise. I'll stop by your place tomorrow and you can take me in." Killian thought it was a decent offer considering the events of tonight.

"Okay." Emma got up and watched Killian pay the bill as they left, they both went back to her apartment where she wasn't about to let him come in until Henry opened the door and attacked her with a hug around her legs. Killian froze in his spot.

"Mom! You kept your promise" Henry smiled.

"Of course, I did, I couldn't break a promise to my number one guy. Now go get ready for bed and I'll be there in a second." Emma smiled as Henry ran to his room, she paid the babysitter and waited till she left.

"Is he?" Killian almost didn't want to ask.

"Yes, but if you are going to jail he will never know, and you will never come back. I have to think about Henry over anyone else." Emma looked at Hook sad but she knew that this had to happen. "Good Night Killian." She entered her apartment.

"Good Night, Emma." Killian managed to say as she closed the door and left him standing at her door. He went back down the stairs and headed back to his ship to think about everything he had learned.

Emma kicked off her heels at the door and stumbled to the kitchen then walked into Henry's room. She smiled as he laid in bed ready to be tucked in, fighting sleep as hard as he could so that he could get his goodnight kiss.

"Who was that man? Is he my dad?" She was afraid of these questions. She kissed his forehead and tucked him in.

"Well, that was a guy mommy had to do some business with tonight, no he's just another guy," Emma smiled and turned off his light and headed to her room.

She didn't have any answer for Henry and she sure as hell wasn't sure what Killian was going to do about the information that he had just found out. She changed into her sleepwear and tried to prepare for the next day, at least she was able to get one criminal turned in but it was all up to Killian on how he was going to handle things. She couldn't believe he still made her heart flutter and made things just feel right for her, it wasn't like when she was with Neil where she questioned everything and was so unsure of what his intentions really were.

Emma tossed and turned during the night having nightmare after nightmare, she woke up multiple times to refocus herself on what was reality and what was just a dream.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

One thing that he had to admit was he didn't sleep the night before, he simply changed into jeans, a t-shirt and a leather jacket. He sat on the pier looking out over the ocean, his mind was racing on what he should do as he sipped rum from his flask. Smee walked up and sat beside Hook, he knew there was a lot on his captain's mind but he wasn't sure how to approach him about it.

"Sir, may I ask what it is you plan on doing exactly?" Smee looked at Hook concerned.

"No, Smee I don't. All I know is that I have a lad that really needs me in his life, but the crimes that we have committed are also unforgivable." As Hook looked off he remembered the day he went from soldier to pirate.

It was a year before he had met Emma, things went south with the Royal Navy and he chose to take over the ship. He changed the name from Jewel of the Realm to the Jolly Rodger as he took command and Smee became his right hand man. His first year is when he met Emma, he had to admit he had never met a woman like her but he, being a pirate, continued to court multiple women for the past five years. Hook suddenly stood up and began to leave.

"Where are you going Captain?" Smee looks absolutely confused.

"I have to fix this Smee."

Killian showed up at Emma's door, conflicted yet ready to do what was right. He admitted he had done plenty of things wrong in the past five years, being a pirate wasn't exactly what everyone was use to these days. If what Emma said was right and it was his little boy in here, he wasn't going to abandon him like his father had him. He hoped that Emma was still at her apartment and not at work about to send out a search party for him. Slowly he raised his hand and knocked on the door, he heard fast footstep as some one, he guessed Henry, ran towards the door.

"Hi!" Henry opened the door, he barely came up to the door handle.

"Hello lad, is your mum home?" Killian kneeled to the boy's height.

"She's in the shower." Henry ran back into the apartment and towards the living room as he heard his show return from commercial break.

"Alright." Killian let himself in and went to sit with the boy, he had no clue what the show was that the boy was watching. Or wasn't watching, Henry had his back to the TV and played with his Legos and dinosaur toys. Hook decided to join Henry on the floor and played as best as he could with him, he noticed the boy stare at his hook from time to time but never said anything.

"Henry, you better not have opened the door again" Emma came out with a towel wrapped around her body, obviously ready to scold the little boy but stopped in her tracks when she seen Killian. "Oh… um what are you doing here?"

"I came to do the right thing, love." He was in shock at how beautiful she was, he also noticed her embarrassment of only being in a towel in front of a total stranger.

"Um, give me a moment." Emma went back into her room and shut the door, Henry took advantage of hook not paying attention to throw a couple Legos at Killian.

"Hey now lad, don't make me hang you by your toes." Killian tried to seem threatening but had to laugh as that was all Henry was doing. "Don't believe me?"

He grabbed Henry and grabbed him by his ankles and held his towards the ceiling, Henry screamed in delight and laughed obviously not finding this at all like a punishment. Emma once again came running out at the sound of her child's screams, the sight in front of her warmed her heart after the small heart attack. Killian laid Henry on the couch only to have the kid bounce off and run at Emma, he had a lot of energy Killian had to give him that.

"Hey kid, are you giving Killian a hard time." Emma picked up Henry giving him a smile happy to see that he was truly okay.

"He hung me by my toes, it was fun." Henry giggles and laughed as he laid his head on Emma's shoulder looking at Killian.

"Well more like just his ankles." Killian gave a nervous laugh as he showed his hook, he couldn't really grab toes with a hook.

"I see. Hey Henry, how about you go play in your room while we talk okay?" Emma kissed Henry's cheek as she set him down, he nodded and ran to his room. Emma motioned for Killian to sit with her at the counter which he did as she said.

"I want to fix this, everything." He tried to start only to be shushed.

"Look, I appreciate that you want to be in his life but you have done some awful things and I have to think about what is best for Henry." Emma stared at Killian waiting for any sign.

"I know, that's why I want to fix this. He should go without a father and I know you know what I am talking about. You have that same look in your eyes as I do Emma, I see that exact look every time I see my reflection. Lonesome, afraid, rejection."

"You don't know anything about me, all I know is I have a job to do and you're my assignment." Emma fought the fact he was right, she felt alone and afraid but that all came with being an orphan.

"Damn it Swan, why are you so scared of my staying this time? Is it because for just a moment you could see a future here?"

"Let me guess with you?"

That phrase hurt more than he thought it should have but what could he do to change her mind. He honestly couldn't think of anything that would help.

"Is there anything that I can do to get my name off your record, Swan?" Killian was desperate, now that he has gotten to see the boy more, he knew he had to stay and be in that boy's life.

"How do I know that once I help you get your name cleared you won't just leave again?"

"You're going to have to learn how to trust, Swan. I am a man of my word." Killian turned and faced her. Emma was speechless, she had never trusted anyone in years and for good reason. Everyone she ever trusted always left her and abandoned her, she wasn't sure she was going to be able to trust him again the same way she did 5 years ago.

"Fine. I need to call a sitter then we will go." Emma stood and headed for her phone on the other counter.

"I'll meet you outside, love." Killian got up and gave Emma a deep kiss before leaving, she stood in absolute shock. She forgot the rush that it gave her until Henry ran back in and hugged her legs.

"So, is he my dad? He is really cool" Emma looked down at Henry only to see features of Killian looking back at her, she ruffled his hair and knelt by him.

"You really like him?" Emma smiled, she to was growing quite fond of the pirate.

"Yeah, he's pretty cool." Henry ran back to play with his toys by the TV as Emma called the babysitter. Now she had even more on her mind than she ever did before.

Hook seen the babysitter enter the building a few minutes after he took a seat on the stairwell, he figured that Emma would be coming back down shortly after. He was lost deep in thought and lost track of when Emma had appeared in front of him, he quickly stood and gave her a smile. She stared at him for a moment before she grabbed the collar of his coat and pulled him into a deep kiss, she didn't pull away till he began to get into it.

"We need to go." She left the building with a mission to get him to the station, Killian stood there for a moment with his fingers touching his lips before he began to follow her. Emma was moving at a good clip down the sidewalk causing Killian to have to job to catch up to her.

"Wait up love, I don't see the big hurry. I was quite enjoying our time together." He smiled as he walked next to her.

"The quicker we get this figured out the quicker I can quit seeing you as a criminal." Emma glanced over to look at him, she couldn't help what her feelings were telling her about him. She kept thinking back to how he was playing with Henry, it was almost the picture of perfection. Emma was too deep in though to notice she almost walked out into traffic till Killian grabbed her and wrapped his arms around her.

"Careful love, I can't have the mother of my child offing herself now can I?" His smile was once again melting her heart, but she wiggled out of his grasp.

"I'm fine." She knew that was a lie once it exited her mouth. She quickly crossed the street when they could and entered the station, Killian followed her in. Emma talked to a deputy that seemed to have an eye for her himself but Killian could just be telling himself some tall tales. Emma gave him a look and let the Deputy take Killian to another room, the pirate figured this was so they could discuss anything that they needed to about how he could pay off his debt. He watched Emma take a seat as the door shut behind him, his coat and hook were taken from him as he was set in front of the Sheriff.

"So Killian Jones, you want to pay for your fines I see? You really think that we can be bought off that easily? You are a pirate and you are never going to change, we have men in the jail that will eat you for breakfast." A fatter man with what appeared to be a Sheriff or Captains uniform on, Killian was only guessing since he had only been at sea since the Royal Navy.

"Aye, Sir, I do. I will do whatever it takes so that I am able to raise my son." Killian leaned forward and rested his arms on the table in front of him. "If you want my ship then take it, I won't be needing it. Everything you could ever want is on that ship and she is all yours for my freedom."

"I see that you still have your dignity from the Royal Navy. If only that was enough to save you from your crimes" The Sheriff gave a smile as the deputy began putting handcuffs on Hook and reading him his rights. The Sheriff got up and left the room to go see Emma.

"Well what was the result?" Emma stood with her arms crossed.

"His efforts were pointless, he has been wanted for 6 years, and his plea to be able to raise his son was really heart touching. Guess he should have thought about that back before he became a pirate." The sheriff smiled and made the word 'pirate' sound venomous.

"Wait so you mean he is still going to jail?" Emma knew the system but she had never seen them be this judgmental before. Usually, most of the people she brought in were let go if they pled some sob story, but now they were being quick to judge someone based on their choice of work.

"You bet. He will be there for a long time."

"I request to see him one last time."

"Fine." He let Emma go see Hook who happened to be in the middle of changing into his new jail attire.

"Well I see orange is really your color." Emma leaned against the wall next to his holding cell. Killian turned around and looked at her with a smile.

"Well love, if you really think so."

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have gotten your hopes up about this." Emma looked down.

"Love, I promise I will find a way to get out of here and when I do I will find you. I promise." Killian smiled at her trying to make her feel better in anyway.

"Just don't do it illegally." She walked up to the cell and gave him a kiss before she left.

"As you wish" was the last thing she heard as she exited the holding area and walked over to the Sheriff's desk.

"How much is his bail?" She slammed her hands on the desk.

"Life, Swan. You knew that."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Emma had returned home and relieved the babysitter, she sat on the floor with Henry and watched him as he played. Henry was always able to make her smile no matter how she was feeling, he was just so carefree in life and never had a worry in the world. This is why she didn't give him up, her parents had abandoned her so why should she have to subject Henry to such pain. Now she just had to break it to Henry that Killian wasn't going to be visiting anymore, which was going to break his heart. She kissed Henry's head and got up to make him dinner, she was already concerned since Henry was so quiet.

"Hey kid, go wash up for dinner please." She smiled at him as he ran to go do as asked.

Just then there was a knock on the door, Henry quickly ran to the door but Emma picked him up before he could open it. Her hopes were high that Killian had managed to get himself out of jail, she opened the door only to have her heart sink and her mind go a million miles an hour. The man at the door was no pirate, no was he any good for her family.

"Neil. Leave." She held Henry tighter trying to hide him from Neil.

"Common Emma, aren't you glad to see me? Mmm, I smell dinner, what did you make?" Neil pushed his way into the apartment and helped himself to anything and everything that he wanted.

"Neil, you cannot be here." Emma sat Henry in his chair and gave him something to eat but still standing between him and Neil.

"Emma, I thought you would have been happy to see me. I got out on 'Good Behavior'." Neil laughed. "What idiots, but I swear Emma I have changed just not as they wanted. I won't steal or lie anymore. I'm here to support my family"

"Neil you don't have a family here, and I don't believe a word that is coming out of your mouth." Her skin began to crawl and all she could think about was how much Henry didn't need to know everything that was happening. "Henry go get ready for bed I'll be in there soon okay" Again, Henry listened and ran to his room.

"He sure is adorable, he looks just like you Emma." Neil tried to get back on Emma's good side.

"He's not yours and never will be. Neither of us will ever be yours, Neil. You need to leave and never come back." She hissed at Neil trying to not be heard by Henry, she was also more than ready to forcefully throw Neil out of her apartment.

"What do you mean he isn't mine? How big of a slut have you turned into since I left?" Neil went there, she couldn't believe it. She punched Neil square in the face breaking his nose and pushed him out of the apartment.

"I said leave." Emma slammed the door and locked it with all the locks she had, she leaned against the door and slid down to the floor. She was wondering what all Henry was able to hear and she didn't know how to explain any of this, he was too young to understand. Her life had become a complete disaster in a matter of a couple days and she had no control over any of it.

"Mommy?" Henry looked around the corner for her and found her sitting in front of the door.

"Hey, kid. What's wrong?" She opened her arms and picked him up and held him in her lap. He had drug his favorite blanket with him, she wrapped his in his blanket and rested her head on top of his.

"Who was that guy?" One thing Emma loved about having a child, they can spot the good in any person. From what she could tell, Neil scared Henry to a point. Usually, Henry is always pestering guests but tonight he never said a word and didn't give her any sass when she asked him to do something.

"I'm sorry Henry, you shouldn't have had to see that mean man. He was someone I knew a long time ago before you came into my life, but I don't regret it because without him I don't believe I would have had the chance to have you in my life." This wasn't a lie, if Emma wasn't helping Neil she wouldn't have gotten stranded at the pier and she wouldn't have met Hook. She couldn't complain about the way things played out one bit.

"Oh." Henry yawned.

It was way past his bedtime and she knew that everything she just said went right over his head, he was still too young. She stood with henry in her arms and carried him to her bedroom and laid him on the bed and tucked him in, she didn't want him to sleep alone tonight. She changed into her sleepwear and crawled into bed with Henry and held him close to her.

"Is the nice guy coming back?" Henry looked up at Emma. She honestly had no answer for him yet again.

"I don't know."

"I hope he does. Maybe he can kick the mean guys butt like the superheroes do on TV." Emma had to laugh at this, her son had a wonderful way of looking at things.

"That would be pretty cool wouldn't it." Emma couldn't help but smile.

"Yeah, then you both would be superheroes." Henry yawned again and slowly began falling asleep.

"Maybe, kid." She smiled and watched Henry fall asleep.

* * *

Killian didn't want to stay the night in jail and he sure wasn't going to sit around and wait for his fate to be decided. He knew that he was going to be able to buy his way out, anyone was able to and all he needed was Smee and a reasonable judge.

"Hey, I want to use my one phone call!" They may have been pirates but it was the 21st century and well they kept up with the times. Hopefully, Smee had actually remembered to charge his phone for once.

"Alright, just this once Jones." Graham came to let Killian use his one phone call.

"Thank you. Now please get me in touch with my judge, I have a preposition for him." Graham nodded and left to let Killian make his call. Luckily Smee actually answered.

"Hello?" Smee had a groggy voice, he must have just woken up.

"Smee, its Hook. Grab the savings and come to the jailhouse. Also you may need to tell the crew to start getting normal jobs and clear their names. We are becoming fisherman after this Smee." It was the only reasonable job Killian could think of so they could all still enjoy the sea from time to time.

"Of course Captain." With that Smee hung up. Killian let out a sigh as Graham came back to retrieve him, they both walked into one of the stations small offices where Killian was sat once again in front of a man in a suit. Only this was a normal suit not a uniform of the police, Killian figured he was in front of the right person finally. The man was looking over Killian's file just like Emma normally did, reading every little detail and observing every little mistake he ever performed.

"So, Killian 'Hook' Jones. You requested to see me?" The man didn't bother to look up from the file.

"Yes, mate I did." He tried to not seem rushed about his plan this time. "I want to know what I can do to erase that file of mistakes and, well, to be honest, get out of here."

"I see. Well you stole a ship, killed a bunch of people, and stole from multiple shops on the coast of Maine. How do you plan on repaying all of your crimes? You have multiple counts of theft and different degrees of murder on your hands Jones." The man finally put the folder down and looks at Killian, his eyes were filled with judgment.

"Aye, I know that I have done wrong and I know I more than deserve to be locked in here forever but I'm willing to give everything back. The ship is docked at the pier and I can pay as much as needed, everything is still on the ship." He wasn't even going to pull the child card, as sure as he was that Henry was his he still was unsure.

"I see, well with the ship returned along with all its goods and royalty your bail would be still unfathomable for a pirate."

"Wait for my right hand man and then see what I have to offer. Send your men to the pier and claim the ship, I have a feeling I won't be needing it anymore after this." Now Killian felt he was getting somewhere and was actually going to win this, there is no way they could turn down such amounts that he was willing to give. The ship had been the major part of his crimes and he knew it that alone was high in price.

"Fine, I will." The man smiled until Graham knocked on the door. "Yes, deputy?"

"There is a Smee here for you and Jones."

"That's a good mate," Killian whispered.

"Fine bring him in."

The deputy left and went to get Smee, the man gave Killian a look that let him know he was playing with fire but may have succeeded in getting his ducks in a row first. Smee followed Graham into the room and sat by Hook with a rather large box in his hands.

"If you don't mind" Hook smiled as he reached for the combination lock on the box. The judge looked away until he heard the click of the box unlocking and the hinge squeaking open. Killian smiled as he pushed the box towards the judge. "I believe this will be enough."

"How much is in here?" The judge looked into the box and pulled out several stacks of bills bundled into thousands.

"More than enough" There were three stacks with three bundles of $10,000 in the box.

"Indeed there is. You will stay here for the night till things are cleared, in the morning Deputy Graham will release your belonging to you and you will be free to go and your ship will be seized. Goodnight Jones." The judge took the box and left the room, Killian and Smee looked at each other and smiled. Tomorrow was a new day for them and the crew.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Emma got up the next morning with a knee in her back and a foot by her face, now she remembered why she didn't allow Henry to sleep in her bed. He was still sound asleep as she got out of bed, she decided to surprise him with his favorite breakfast which happened to be hers as well, she went and made waffles. She wasn't going to forget to make them some hot chocolate with whipped cream and cinnamon on top, it wasn't long after the smell of waffles filled the house that Henry came stumbling out of her room and sat at the table ready to eat. They both sat in silence as they ate, Henry had to be growing again as he had turned into a bottomless pit when he ate, Emma could search he would eat her out of house and home if she let him. Henry soon ran to go play as Emma started to clean up the dishes and everything she used while she made breakfast, her mind wandered to the events of last night.

She wondered why Neil was able to get out of jail, how could he be let loose on good behavior he wasn't that good of a liar or an actor for that matter. She was too zoned out to hear someone knocking on her door; Henry caught her attention as he tugged at her shirt. Finally he learned to not run for the door; of course Emma was pretty sure they were both in shock from recent events. She walked over to the door and opened it.

"Hello, love," Killian smiled at her, she gave a sigh of relief as she stepped out the door and gave him a hug. She couldn't believe that he was able to get out, she was mostly thankful for the fact it wasn't Neil at the door this time.

"You have no idea how glad I am to see you, Henry will be thrilled to see your back," Emma smiled and walked back into the apartment to continue cleaning.

"I didn't go that long Swan, but I'm not going to complain about how glad I am to hear that you missed me." He smiled again as he leaned against the counter next to her. Henry heard Killian's voice and came into the kitchen.

"Hi!" Henry almost had a grin from ear to ear.

"Are you coming to the park with us?" Henry could hardly contain his excitement.

"Well, that is up to your mom," Killian smiled and kneeled down by Henry causing Emma to smile and give a nod.

"Go pack or we are going to be late" Emma smiled at Henry as he ran off.

"Pack? For what, Swan"

"Henry has a sleep over with a friend from school. We are meeting them at Central Park." Emma continued to wash dishes as Killian returned to standing by her.

"So I guess that means I can't take you both out for dinner and a movie?" Killian had a smirk on his face.

"Henry can join another time unless you really wanted to go see the new Secret Life of Pets movie." Emma couldn't help but tease Killian.

"Man, that was the top on my list. Looks less weird with a kid." Emma had to laugh at how he was able to say that with out sounding creepy.

"Oh, I see. Well, I guess we will just have to go see a silly adult film or stay home and watch some of Henry's old Disney movies." She couldn't help but smile at the charming pirate.

"Well, love. I will have to let you decide. My treat to whatever you would like." She smiled and began to ponder on things; she did need to get to know him better, for Henry's sake.

Henry came running back into the kitchen with a backpack flopping on his back smacking his heels as he ran, Emma smiled and made sure he packed everything he needed to. She laughed when she found his Peter Pan book, a few super hero toys and his favorite blanket. She went and grabbed his pj's and toothbrush and added them to his backpack. Emma grabbed her keys and began guiding Henry to the front door with Killian close behind, without asking he locked the door behind him as they had all exited the apartment. Normally Henry would have ran ahead and went to talk to the guard of the building but with recent events he stuck close to Emma and Killian, he wedged himself between them and had a hold of both their hands. Emma looked up to see how he had taken to Henry's action only to be met with a large smile and acceptance of the boy's actions.

Emma could feel her walls falling down the more time she spent with Killian and she wasn't sure if this was a good thing, she was afraid to get hurt again. She had to be strong for Henry and think about his well being before she should even think about her love life, even if that meant delaying him a loving father figure that would go to the end top the world for him. As they walked to Central Park, Henry would occasionally run and swing from their hand catching them off guard every time. Emma would glance at Killian, his smile never faltered since they left the apartment, this made her smile till Henry ran from them and ran over to his friends leaving his backpack on the ground half way there.

"Henry!" She called after him receiving a chuckle from Killian as he picked up the discarded backpack.

"Emma he is fine." His voice alone could calm her down and she hated it.

"But he knows better than that. Just aggravates is all." Emma stopped at a near by picnic table, Killian laying the backpack on the bench and taking a seat where he too could see Henry play.

"He is fine, love. Relax and enjoy the beautiful day." He was right and she knew that he was but she couldn't help but worry. When she spotted the other mothers she grabbed Henry's backpack.

"I'll be back." She ran over to them slowing to a walk as she reached them leaving Killian on the bench till Henry came and had him join in the play.

"Hey guys, sorry I'm late. Had a few issues this morning and last night."

"You call that an issue? I call that a reward for being a single mom." Ella teased Emma. Ariel and Ruby shared a giggle and all the girls watched the kids or more like watched Hook.

"No, he wasn't the issue. Hopefully a solution but not the issue." All the women gave her a confused look as they didn't understand.

"Neil showed up again." This made gasps erupt.

"I thought he was in for life?" Ruby whispered so the children or Killian couldn't hear them.

"As did I, according to him he got out on 'good behavior'." They all looked in disbelief.

"Ella thank you for this sleep over, I don't think I could bare dealing with Neil again if Henry is there again. Not to mention what will happen if Killian is there, my life is such a mess and I feel so bad for Henry for putting him through all this." Emma didn't realize the situation almost had her in tears, usually, she wouldn't break down like this till she was alone but today was much different.

"No problem at all Emma, you deserve a day to your self. Please let me know if it needs to extend a day, I'm sure Alexandria won't mind one bit." Ella smiled and hugged Emma.

"Thank you so much. I may have to take you up on that. I will send you a text in the morning to see how things went." They all hugged again before Emma went to say goodbye to Henry.

She turned to see Killian under a pile of little kids, Henry on the bottom. She couldn't help but smile and wipe a tear from her eye. Killian looked up just in time to see her wipe her eye and became instantly worried and tried to escape the child pile. The kids quickly dispersed and ran screaming and laughing thinking Killian was going to chase them. Killian got up and walked up to Emma worried about what happened.

"Emma, what's wrong?" He wiped another tear that had escaped off her cheek.

"Oh, I was just talking to the girls about something the other night that I will tell you about later. I need to say goodbye to Henry." Emma sniffles and gestured for Henry to come over, which he did quickly. " I'll see you in the morning okay, and be good for Ella." Henry nodded and gave her a hug around her legs, then did the same to Killian and ran off to play again.

"Let's go back home love and talk. You obviously have a lot on your mind." He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and guided her back to her apartment giving the mothers a wave as they left. Emma leaned into him and let him guide her home, she couldn't believe how far her walls had fallen down with him but she needed to let him know before something bad happened.

Killian stopped at a Starbucks on a corner and bought them some coffee and lunch before they headed up to her apartment, Emma didn't talk much which meant she had a lot on her mind. The truth was that she was scared, things were going well for once and everything was about to go crashing down. Killian returned but so did Neil, she was glad that Killian got them coffee, he even got her favorite without having to ask her. As they walked up to Emma's apartment she felt as though there was something wrong and got a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach, as they got closer they noticed that her door was already open.

"Shit" Emma was checking her belt noticing she forgot her gun.

"Stay here." Killian walked in front of Emma setting his coffee on the floor by the wall, he really had no idea what they were getting into but he wanted to be prepared for anything. A key had unlocked the door; there was no force marking or any signs of struggle to break in. Killian slowly entered the apartment looking around every corner before advancing further; Emma followed and quickly went in the kitchen for her secret gun under the counter. Killian spotted her other gun and grabbed it off the side table by the couch and both continued to look around the apartment, Killian went to check Henry's room and found a man he had never seen before and tackled him to the ground.

"Hey get off me! This is my house!" of course, Killian wasn't going to believe him till Emma had a say. Emma came running in and seen Killian pinning Neil to the ground by his hand behind his back.

"Emma who the hell is this?!" Emma stood in shock and couldn't answer right away.

"Neil how did you get in here and what the hell are you doing here?!" finally the shock had worn off only to find Killian giving her a hurt and confused look.

"Hey was the to tell the pirate to get the hell off me." Killian ground his knee into Neil's back.

"Not till you explain why you broke into my house." Emma was pleased with Killian's actions.

"I came to see my girl and my son."

"Your son?!" Killian looked at Emma and Neil.

"Yes, my son. You buffoon." Killian looked at Emma searching for anything in her eyes to tell him that Neil was lying, when he couldn't find it he got up and let Neil go and escorted himself out of the apartment.

"Killian wait!" Emma tried to run after him after giving Neil a 'go die' look when she opened the door Killian was long gone.

"What the hell was that for?!"

"What the hell was his problem? Did he think Henry was his?"

"Henry is Killian's you dumb ass, get out of my apartment and get out of my life. I will get you arrested again for breaking and entering."

"No, you won't. You didn't have the balls back then you don't have the courage to do it now."

Neil left, Emma stood in Henry's room absolutely shocked. She had to find Hook but she didn't have any idea where she was going to be able to find him. She needed to talk to him and make things right. She grabbed her phone and tried to call him but for her luck he wouldn't answer, she headed out of her apartment locking the door securely behind her and headed to her little beat up yellow bug. She may not have known where exactly Hook was going to be but she had a good idea he was going to be where the ocean was. She drove to the pier, he really over reacted and wasn't even willing to argue over what he thought. Of course she didn't really help with defending him, when it came to Neil she couldn't ever think straight.

Emma tried to figure out where Killian was going to be when she reached the pier; she got out of her bug and began walking the pier. She headed down where she thought the Jolly Roger was only to find that it was gone, she wasn't sure what to think.

"He traded the ship in for you." Emma jumped at Smee's voice.

"What?" She turned and looked at Smee, she could tell his lack of a job was not treating him well.

"Captain traded his ship in for our freedom so he could be with you and the boy, and I'm guessing by the fact you are standing here you haven't found him yet." Smee pointed to the bar behind them.

"I have to talk to him Smee, everything got so messed up."

"Go talk to him." Smee nodded and left to go to a ship by the pier, Emma guessed it was for a new job he possibly got or a possible place to stay. She headed to the bar when she walked in she was hit with cigar smoke and the smell of too much alcohol. She quickly spotted Killian in the corner by the bar, drinking rum of all things.

"Is rum always your solution?" She walked up to him.

"Not always but it sure helps a lot. What brings you here, love?"

"I'm here for you, please can we go and talk. I have a lot to explain." Emma tried to be as convincing as she possibly could; Killian nodded tossed a few coins on the bar and followed her out. They walked out and sat on the edge of the pier, Killian still sipping from his flask.

"Spill Swan, who was that man?" Killian was obviously upset, mostly felt betrayed that she didn't tell him.

"Neil. He was the one who dropped me off here after he robbed a place 5 years ago. Without him, I would have never met you." Emma looked at Killian. "Killian I swear I never thought that he was ever going to show back up, he was supposed to be in jail for life. I had no idea he was going to come back, that has been what was bothering me. I wanted to tell you I really did but everything happened before I had the chance to."

"Emma..."

"I was trying to protect Henry, that's all I have ever done and the fact that he bonded with you so easily scares me. I'm afraid to get close to anyone ever again because every time I do I always get hurt and I always loose them." She couldn't help the tears that began to fall; she had been afraid and alone for so long she forgot what it felt like to be cared for. It honestly scared her.

"Oh, Love. You don't have to worry about me if there is one thing I am good at that is surviving all circumstances." Killian pulls her close and gives her a kiss before wiping away her tears. "I know that you are hurting, Swan, but I know there are better ways to overcome anger."

"Let me guess, rum?"

"Never hurts." He smiles and hands her his flask, she took a swig and laid against his chest, he had a way of always making her feel better no matter what the situation was at the time. He had a way about him that always made her sadness and anger was away.

"About Henry, he really is yours I promise. Neil doesn't care he is just trying to be controlling like he always has been." Emma could feel Killian tense up at Neil's name.

"Aye…" He took another swig of rum as he continued to think about the new information he was given. "I don't want him around Henry."

"I don't either, and I haven't quite figured out how to completely accomplish that, though."

"I have some bloody good ideas."

"With Neil coming back twice, I should text Ella and tell her that Henry will be staying an extra night. She will take him to school as well." Emma took a swig from the flask and made a face, as she wasn't use to the burn from the rum.


End file.
